A
37-year-old South Carolina sailor, who was reported missing in late
January, tonight walked into a Norfolk, Va., hospital after his rescue
by the U.S. Coast Guard about 200 miles east of Cape Hatteras.

The sailor, Louis Jordan, apparently suffered only a shoulder injury during the ordeal on his 35-foot sailboat, Angel.

The
Coast Guard said its 5th District Command Center in Portsmouth,
Va., received a call from the German-flagged ship, Houston
Express, about 1:30 p.m. this afternoon that the crew had found Jordan
clinging to the hull of his 35-foot boat and had taken him aboard.

A
Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew was launched from Air Station
Elizabeth City, N. C., at approximately 3:40 p.m. The helicopter flew
to the Houston Express, hoisted Jordan aboard, and transported him to
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he arrived about 7:30 p.m.

"People
have been praying for you," the sailor's father, Frank Jordan, told him
in a recorded phone call today released by the Coast Guard.

"I
was just praying about you," his son replied, "because I was afraid
that you guys were crying and sad that, you know, I was dead."

Jordan also talked to his father about his sailboat.

"I
couldn't fix it," he said, without saying what had happened. "I
couldn't sail it back. I'm so sorry. It's such a big loss."

His father dismissed the concern.

The sailor also told his rescuers that he had been catching fish and eating them.

Jordan
was last seen leaving Bucksport Plantation Marina in Conway, S.C., on
Jan.23, in his sailboat, Angel. He had been working on it there
for some time.

The Coast Guard says he was reported missing by his family on Jan. 29.

According
to an Associated Press report, Jordan's mother, Norma Davis of
Jacksonville, N.C., said he had told the family he was "going into the
open water to sail and do some fishing."

The Coast
Guard put out an alert to look for the sailor and his boat. The family
had posted flyers, including one at Teach's Lair Marina, seeking
information. However, there was no news until today.

"We
expected him to come back and he did not return," his mother told the
Associated Press. "We knew something happened. To us, it's just a
miracle. We're just so thrilled he was found alive."

Frank Jordan said in the call with his son that both mother and father were headed to the Norfolk hospital to be with him.

The
elder Jordan also spoke with the captain of the Houston Express and
told him, "You're a good man....I swear it's a beautiful world."

Click here to see a video of the Coast Guard airlifting sailor Louis Jordan off the boat that rescued him.

Click here to hear the audio of sailor Louis Jordan's phone call with his father.

Click here to hear the audio of Frank Jordan's phone call with the captain of the vessel that found his son.